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Everything posted by Johnathon

Unfortunately, I have been incredibly swamped and haven't had the pleasure of working much on the project since last summer. In good news, I have finally graduated with my BS in computer science... In bad news, because I am currently under the gun with all my debts--about $400 deficit monthly--I wasn't able to justify the cost it would have taken to renew hosting for the website, so it went off-line two days ago... This having been said, I have not given up on the project, and hope to figure out some hosting solution soon-even if it's a free service (or perhaps will just post updates here exclusively)

Really did it for me! Hilarious. Just what I needed this evening. :y: Still can't wait 'til the game is released! A real shame it wasn't in time for Father's Day this year (planning on getting an extra copy for my dad). Well, there's Christmas, I suppose.

It turns out I've changed my mind again. I chose Wintermute on a whim based upon what I've heard of its greater flexibility over AGS; however, having completed my first course in game design and acquired more experience with C++, I've decided the best thing to do is to just make my own custom engine using the SDL library. This way, I have complete control over every aspect, and the game will be portable to many platforms. I've already begun implementing and have thus far had great success. I know it's more work up front, but it should pay off in the long run.

Thanks for your sentiments, Troels. And there's nothing more I hate than disappointing people (and aliens, sorry) who are waiting on SQ:OEOE Just thought I'd mention now that after much, much consideration concerning the implementation of the adventure, I have come to the conclusion that I will not be using AGS. I'm going to be using WinterMute Engine instead. AGS will not allow for some very vital effects and features that are integral to the Outer Edge of Earnon (one notable problem being the limit on backgrounds, rooms, and sprites). I know it's not much news, but it shows that despite all the life setbacks and other priorities at play, I've still been putting much thought into the adventure and doing what I can to progress on it as I can.

Poor Gary, I heard this news the day after it had occurred. Just didn't really know what to say or do about it. We can take solace in that it seems he led a very full and wholesome life. Definitely will be sorely missed. I'm feeling more anxious to play SpaceVenture now just so I can hear his most recent voice-acting that he'd done before his passing away, and when I play Space Quest 6 now on my 486, I feel sad knowing he won't be around to do anymore. Rest in Peace.

As repetitive as Paul's malice and idiocy has become, that he's denying account access to a paying client is no less hilarious to me (I mean, of course it's sad, that goes without saying). There seems to be no limit to the man's stupidity and hypocrisy. As if he's one to talk about unprofessional behavior? Regardless, he's got to see that such methods--regardless of right or wrong--will destroy his company pretty quickly. And what's with that change in voice from "we" to "my," and then back to "ours," in the letter? Is Paul in the 3rd grade? If he's the public relations department as well as CEO... OH SNAP! I wouldn't work for the asshole for more than one week. Probably why he has nobody else available to handle PR.

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but you know that death sequence in SQ5 when you dock to the wrong section of the Goliath, and use the laser cutter, and then, one-by-one, those creepy mutants peer their creepy, creepy little faces into your tight enclosure... oh... SHUDDER...

You know, I do have memories though, crystal clear, of observing my father playing space quest 2. Specifically, I remember him walking into the screen on Labion where the giant carnivorous mushrooms resided, and getting eaten by one of them. I was amused by that. I also observed him choking from the spore dust. I remember calling him "funny guy" because of those observations. I would go up to my father and plead "funny guy!, play funny guy!" because I wanted to watch him play it. I must've been two, three years old at the most during the time. Years later when I dug up the sq3 diskettes (as I mentioned, he'd misplaced/lost the ones for games one and two), at age 8, and had played through to the planet pestulon (where the aluminum mallard first lands, and there are swirling cyan plants all around) I was very confused as to why suddenly there was only one screen on that green planet, and walking any direction led to the sequence where Roger observes the pirates coming out of the bunker. I'd mistaken Pestulon for Labion as I'd remembered it 6 years prior, when I was two years old, and was expecting to see those giant mushrooms again. Ahhh...

VGA, though I'll admit I wasn't quite old enough to play EGA when it was released. Therefore, I don't suffer the particular nostalgia "bias" that some older fans may. ;) I was first introduced to the series through sq3 (my personal favorite), and the sq1ega and sq2 diskettes had already been lost by my father by the time I'd become old enough to be curious about the games (age 8). From there, I played sq4, and then sq6, and then sq5 (all purchased separately as single box editions). I remember how bitch'n hard games 1 and 2 were to get ahold of, and therefore, after I'd exhausted my energy on games 3 through 6, I proceeded to cry and whine to my parents about how horrible my life was because stores never sold sq1 or sq2, because I was so curious about them and desperate to play them. Where was I...? Oh yes.. so my chronological sense of the games has been all screwed up from the beginning, and it wasn't until I found the six pack collection at Costco that I finally got my hand on the first two chapters. Naturally, I played sq1VGA first, and quite enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it's an unsubstantiated bias. SQ1vga has a lot of good qualities, though I am quite willing to believe had it been Scott and Mark's vga version, it'd be loads better. That having been said, I also greatly value the ega version, because while I'm slightly more of a late 80's/early 90's art style biased fan, I'm also an sq fanatic and purist. EGA was, of course, much easier to beat after playing the point n click vga version, but it's still a fun little gem. No different than being able to appreciate an old black and white film in it's original context, really. I know, this didn't really help much.

August 12th, 2014
This is not an easy update for me to make. It is partly because of this that I have put it off for the past two months, some part of me fighting to see if the circumstances could have changed enough for me to not have to make it. But... here we are.
The game is not, I repeat, not necessarily cancelled.
Here is what's up:
This past summer, I acquired my first internship in the computer science program as a mobile app developer. I earnestly put in all the effort I could to excel and learn as much as possible. Nonetheless, I was asked not to come back for a second rotation, due to my inability to learn quickly enough and become productive enough to remain a worthwhile investment. This has caused me to question my abilities and the concern has led me to wanting to focus even more on my curriculum ahead.
I am also entering the higher junior-level courses of my major in computer science, and believe the road ahead for the next year and a half is going to be quite bumpy and filled with plenty of taxing responsibilities. I question whether or not attempting to hang on to production of the fan game would truly prove beneficial to either cause.
Also, one of my younger brothers unfortunately fell off a roof while working construction, broke his back in several places, and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition a couple weeks ago. He still has no feeling below his right knee and may never be able to walk again without a cane or other tool. He has also contracted a high fever of a cause currently unknown, and frequentyl suffers significant pain due to the damages. This has left me not in the best mood to continue developing on such a highly-spirited and humorous project, and I furthermore may be required to help aid in his rehabilitation.
I find it appropriate to put the adventure on indefinite hold for now. I need a little bit of a breather. I am saving all of the material and intend to finish it and release it; but I just don't know when that will be. Depending on how successful I am with graduation and attaining a good enough job to take care of all the top priorities in my life, I may or may not be able to pick up production again in another two years from now -- but there's also a good chance that if I do, I'll be keeping under the radar until it's completely finished (I've been disappointed with my lack of ability to keep to deadlines in the recent past, and I wouldn't feel good about continuing to let you guys keep on waiting and waiting anxiously expecting me to deliver on my promise.
Wish me luck. May the Outer Edge of Earnon be completed some day, and long live SpaceVenture!
- Johnathon

Interestingly, when I was 11-years-old, I witnessed an identical (in nature) glitch in police quest 2, during the part of the game when Sonny Bonds gets fired at in the park by Jessie Bains (shortly before the scuba diving scene). To avoid being killed by him, but getting him to run away, I tapped the left and right keys as quickly as possible to enter and exit the screen hopefully without taking the bullet. Apparently I'd taken the bullet simultaneously to exiting the screen, but the game didn't register the event as a death, so I walked all the way back to my car to report the incident, over radio, via 'falling-down-with-blood-coming-out-of-my-chest' sprites as I walked.

Forgive me if I'm being opinionated or biased here, but... wouldn't it seem to be an undermining of the Two Guys' finally working together again, after so long - and most notably without having to answer to some corporate penny-squeezer(s) - for them to decide to dice SpaceVenture up into an episodic release?
I must be honest and say that the very idea sits very ill with me. I don't believe I'd like it at all.
Then again, it is the Two Guys... so I'm sure if they decide it of their own free will, then there must be a good reason for it - one which enhances the game experience rather than does the opposite.
EDIT: @JimmyTwoBucks
Much the same feelings here, but I'll add my two cents in saying that I believe it would also be a bad idea to release the game episodic even temporarily. What the Guys need to do is make the best damned impression that they can with it, from the get-go. Having episodic releases would only dwindle the punching force of a later full release. It's not like they aren't way behind schedule as it is (saying this not out of criticism, but just for making the point that if people weren't still interested nor didn't still want a full release - well... you know...)
What they need to do is take advantage of the fact that those really looking forward to the game have accepted that it's going to be late, and just keep on chugging on underneath of that moral bubble, to deliver a full, epic gaming experience.

As little as possible.
I remember having cheating my way through a couple adventure games when I was younger; but even then, shortly after doing so I was able to notice I'd taken most of the fun out of it. I made a rule of thumb pretty quickly to only seek a hint if I were stuck for at least a full month.
That is, spending about two hours a day (what my parents had allowed me on electronics), 7 days a week, for one full month. If I couldn't figure it out by then, I'd cheat on the current puzzle at hand. That means even if I only progressed one screen or something, and got stuck on the very next puzzle, I'd wait another full month before cheating again.
That, of course, was when I had access to the internet (or happened to have a specific hint book for the game I was playing). Sometimes I didn't, and so there wasn't even monthly cheating. I remember I began PQ2 when I was about 11, and didn't beat it until I was 16 (and yes, it took cheating).
But that's talking about hint books. Walkthroughs are a crime to both the designer and the player.